keeping queen

[sonny]

I ordered a queen for my queenless hive and to my surprise I received two queens for the price of one. I am keeping the second queen in her cage above a queen extruder in a honey super on another hive. I thought I would keep her until I make sure the new queen is accepted and laying. How long can a queen stay alive caged? Is this the best way to keep her?

[BjornBee]

If the queen is caged with attendants, you can keep her on the kitchen counter for 3-5 days, assuming the queens were not long termed banked by the producer.

There are times when a caged queen (as you have her) will be ignored by the bees she really needs attending her.....that being nurse bees. I have had queens last a good amount of time above a queenright colony. But eventually they will propolis or wax over the queen cage.

I'm sure for a couple days it will not be a problem. If they kill her, they would do that right away. So if she is alive now, she will be alive in a couple more days.